Norges Bank Invests $55.98 Million in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,494,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,977,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.22% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PECO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,322,342 shares of the company's stock worth $723,815,000 after purchasing an additional 82,913 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,068,684 shares of the company's stock worth $267,289,000 after buying an additional 18,429 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,190,836 shares of the company's stock worth $120,347,000 after acquiring an additional 19,205 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,145,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,371,000 after acquiring an additional 51,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,737,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,084,000 after acquiring an additional 606,055 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PECO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Mizuho cut their price target on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.83.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Down 2.3 %

PECO stock traded down $0.80 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,758,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,894. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a one year low of $30.62 and a one year high of $40.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57. The company's 50 day moving average is $35.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.09.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.50. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 2.40% and a net margin of 9.48%. As a group, research analysts predict that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.1025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 246.00%.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Phillips Edison & Co, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of shopping centers. It also offers an investment management business providing property management and advisory services. Its portfolio consists of well-occupied, grocery-anchored neighborhood and community shopping centers having a mix of national, regional, and local retailers offering necessity-based goods and services.